Building a kit home this summer

[tikicarver]

On a separate note, you have to have house plans to get the permit to dig the septic. You also cannot legally (permitted) have a bathroom all by itself on your land, even if it is connected to the permitted septic. You must have a permitted building first. Then, you can put in a shed with a bathroom. That is what I was able to discern from the county, anyway.

Ah, I was wondering about that.

I have an existing lot and planning to build a new house in the back of it.
I know the permit for the septic is separate and comes from the Wastewater Branch of Dept of Health, 
so did they say you have to have an approved building permit before you can apply for the septic permit? or just have a set of house plans?

I know they need to know the sixe of the house and number of bathrooms, just wondering if they will issue a septic permit before you get your builing permit?

The reason I''m asking,, I plan to put in the septic first, because I think it will be hard to get into the area where the septic needs to go if I start work on the foundaation of the house, so would like to get the septic out of the way and done...
and maybe get the septic installed while waiting for the house permit to be approved..

[caleeallen]

On a separate note, you have to have house plans to get the permit to dig the septic. You also cannot legally (permitted) have a bathroom all by itself on your land, even if it is connected to the permitted septic. You must have a permitted building first. Then, you can put in a shed with a bathroom. That is what I was able to discern from the county, anyway.

Ah, I was wondering about that.

I have an existing lot and planning to build a new house in the back of it.
I know the permit for the septic is separate and comes from the Wastewater Branch of Dept of Health, 
so did they say you have to have an approved building permit before you can apply for the septic permit? or just have a set of house plans?

I know they need to know the sixe of the house and number of bathrooms, just wondering if they will issue a septic permit before you get your builing permit?

The reason I''m asking,, I plan to put in the septic first, because I think it will be hard to get into the area where the septic needs to go if I start work on the foundaation of the house, so would like to get the septic out of the way and done...
and maybe get the septic installed while waiting for the house permit to be approved..

I think you just need the basic house plans, number of bedrooms, and site plan to get septic approval. Then you can wait for the house permit. But, again, my plans were 'pre-approved.' However, I do have a few upgrades planned to the bathroom that can be permitted 'during the build,' so it looks like the plans do not have to be finalized.

[Hotzcatz]

Usually I'll draw up the house plans, send those off to the structural engineer and also send them to the septic engineer.  The engineers send any revisions back and those are incorporated into the plan set.  The septic location is then noted on the plot plan for the house.  Other than the location shown on the plot plan, nothing more for the septic is noted on the plan set for the house.  The septic design is usually a separate .PDF which is submitted via EPIC to the County & Department of Health (state dept) along with the .PDF of the stamped house plans.  (as well as a few other .PDFs such as Owner Declaration & Project Declaration and any other required documents)  This is just the current method that we use, it can be different for other folks and other times.

As for the septic installation, will a truck be able to get to the area behind the house once the foundations are in?  The septic folks here had a Takeuchi 135 excavator (Dave's Land Services)  which is narrower than a car and didn't require any rock/soil/fill added to the project, but this is Hamakua and not Puna so there may be different requirements in Puna.

[caleeallen]

We got the bid, and now I'm shaving costs...
Are there any opinions on skipping gravel or cinders altogether for the driveway?
I see homes with just the packed earth.
We're in Fern Acres.

[Chas]

My opinion is don't skip it. It's not THAT much, and will save you tons of aggravation. You don't want a muddy mess when it rains. Even if it doesn't, you'll be tracking dirt into the house.

See my recommendations on gravel here:
https://punaweb.org/forum/showthread.php?tid=23585

[caleeallen]

Thanks! That makes a lot of sense. We'll try to skimp somewhere else.

[Durian Fiend]

Thanks! That makes a lot of sense. We'll try to skimp somewhere else.

Depending upon the slope and condition of your driveway, my preference is for small rocks because they're more comfortable for walking.  If you don't walk your driveway much than this would largely be a non issue.  The benefit of larger rocks is that they are less likely to move around and potentially be tracked into your garage or carport-if so equipped.  Although it looks the best by far, red cinder material can be somewhat fine and dusty so it definitely can get tracked around or washed away if you're on a slope.

Once established, some driveways can be quite low maintenance. After about 5-10 years or so I end up hauling a couple loads of material in my pickup for adding to the tire paths of my fairly flat driveway.

[caleeallen]

Thank you! Yes, I'm getting bad vibes about cinder.
We can save money on the floors by having just sealed concrete floors. They will be hard and chilly, but I will use a few throw rugs. Does anyone have experience with them?
We are saving so far by having the interior only primed and getting only the bottom cabinets in the kitchen.

[mtnjew]

Also check out Argus Builders in Hilo. Independently owned. 
I am looking at Hansador, HPM, and just having a friend who is a draftsperson design a small 1 bedroom, 1.5 bathroom home for me in Kea'au. So, I get it...Let me know what you find out!

Lisa





I've started the kit home-building process in Fern Acres and have gotten a few quotes-
$17,000 for a 75-foot drive, 40 x 40 pad, and septic install. Add on $2000 for the house plan with specs and $1000 for engineer approval. That was from Island Boundary, and they pinned our front corners. Very responsive. Nick Moore was also very helpful.

I was also quoted between $350 and $400 for labor and some land clearing from two contractors, but that was NOT for a kit home. I am waiting for a couple more to get back to me. 

But now I need to buy those house plans and am choosing between HPM and Honsador, their smallest units. I did the 'finishing math' for the pre-approved Argus homes, and it almost came out the same way. Plus, I'd have to do a lot myself.

HPM is very upfront with their prices. Honsador is not, but I will persevere.

Does anyone have an opinion between the two or any contractor advice? Greg Henning has been very responsive so far, but I don't have a quote yet.

[Chas]

Contractor.

Sam Berg, Construction 3. 808 960 4028